What are the recommended methods for handling real-time scenarios or interactions between users in a PHP-based browser game?

Handling real-time scenarios or interactions between users in a PHP-based browser game can be achieved using technologies like WebSockets or AJAX polling. WebSockets allow for bidirectional communication between the server and clients in real-time, while AJAX polling involves the client making periodic requests to the server to check for updates. 

```php
// Using WebSockets for real-time interactions
// Server-side code to handle WebSocket connections

use Ratchet\MessageComponentInterface;
use Ratchet\ConnectionInterface;

class GameServer implements MessageComponentInterface {
    protected $clients;

    public function __construct() {
        $this->clients = new \SplObjectStorage;
    }

    public function onOpen(ConnectionInterface $conn) {
        $this->clients->attach($conn);
        echo "New connection! ({$conn->resourceId})\n";
    }

    public function onMessage(ConnectionInterface $from, $msg) {
        foreach ($this->clients as $client) {
            $client->send($msg);
        }
    }

    public function onClose(ConnectionInterface $conn) {
        $this->clients->detach($conn);
        echo "Connection {$conn->resourceId} has disconnected\n";
    }

    public function onError(ConnectionInterface $conn, \Exception $e) {
        echo "An error has occurred: {$e->getMessage()}\n";
        $conn->close();
    }
}
```

This code snippet demonstrates a basic WebSocket server using the Ratchet library in PHP to handle real-time interactions between users in a browser game. The `onOpen`, `onMessage`, `onClose`, and `onError` methods are implemented to manage WebSocket connections, send messages to clients, handle disconnections, and log errors, respectively.

Keywords

WebSocket PHP sockets AJAX long polling real-time communication

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